The Blues have suffered a heartbreaking and controversial loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this morning.
Leading by two points with three minutes remaining, and heading for only their third away victory in three seasons, referee Rohan Hoffman penalised the Blues for a lineout maul technicality, handing Joe Pietersen an easy penalty to put the home side ahead.
The Blues still had a chance to win it at the death, reclaming the ball from the restart and holding possession well. Hoffman could have penalised the Cheetahs for a high tackle but didn't and the final act of the game was a missed dropped goal attempt by Ihaia West.
It was a cruel way for the match to end for the Blues, who had some outstanding individuals in skipper Jerome Kaino, playing his 100th match, prop Charlie Faumuina and lock Patrick Tuipulotu. The Blues now have a record this season of played three, lost three.
They led 14-12 at halftime thanks to converted tries from Luke Braid, who scored from a lineout drive, and Faumuina, who grabbed Tuipulotu's offload with one hand and crashed over, but failed to capitalise on a Cheetahs' defence which has improved on last year but was often still vulnerable.
Apart from Hoffman's decision to penalise the Blues for not engaging with the Cheetahs' lineout maul in the final minutes -- a tactic which was successful for them last weekend against the Stormers -- the home side wasted a golden opportunity early in the second half when Braid dropped the ball half a metre from the Cheetahs' line.
Also, on stroke of halftime, West was over after a 50m run but the try was ruled out by the TMO for Faumuina's forward pass.
"It's a great honour to join an exclusive club [100 games] but it would have been great to top it off with a win," Kaino, who scored a try, said.
Cheetahs 25 (Cornal Hendricks 2, Sarel Pretorius tries; Joe Pietersen 2 cons, 2 pens)
Blues 24 (Luke Braid, Charlie Faumuina, Jerome Kaino tries; Ihaia West 3 cons, pen)
Halftime: Blues 14-12
By Patrick McKendry
